Daily Times

The Foreign Office Thursday categorically said the Siachen Glacier is a disputed territory which India cannot open for tourism.

“India has made attempts to occupy the territory of Siachen. The disputed land cannot be opened for tourists,” Foreign Office spokesman Dr Faisal said here at a weekly press briefing.

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had recently announced that tourists can access Siachen, the world’s highest battlefield between Pakistan and India to which both claim sovereignty. The FO spokesman, however, said India has not formally conveyed its decision on Siachen to Pakistan.

As regards Pakistan Army’s retired officer Colonel Habib Zahir reportedly killed in a torture cell after he went missing in Nepal two-and-a half-years ago, he said, “I have seen the death certificate which looks fake. It is obviously a campaign of sensationalisation being undertaken by hostile agencies against Pakistan and its nationals.” He said the family of Colonel Habib Zahir and Pakistan remain extremely concerned about his whereabouts.

On London-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement founder Altaf Hussain who sought asylum in India and whether Pakistan intends to raise matter with the British authorities, the spokesman said, “It is an issue of serious concern and a comprehensive response will be issued soon.”

Altaf Hussain, in his speech on social media from London, had said that if Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would provide asylum to him and his colleagues, he would be ready to go to India.

When asked whether Pakistan is considering opening Hindu religious sites in Azad Kashmir for people across the eastern border, he said Pakistan is ever ready to increase people-to-people contacts, however India’s reluctance to negotiate mutual matters is the main hurdle. “India after its August 5 decision has made it difficult and almost impossible to work out bilateral issues and Pakistan despite its good intentions cannot unilaterally materialise any such project,” he said.

Rejecting the impression that Pakistan had ever worked on making Gilgit-Baltistan its province, Dr Faisal said it has always insisted on giving fundamental rights to the people of the area. “The human development in Gilgit-Baltistan cannot be made hostage for the reason that India is not willing to resolve the issue of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

The spokesman said Pakistan considers the plebiscite as per resolutions of the United Nations Security Council as the only solution to resolve the matter. “The people of Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and Indian-held Kashmir are very close to our hearts and we will do whatever we can for their empowerment,” he said.

The FO spokesman said the humanitarian crisis in the occupied valley is worsening due to continuous denial of food, medical care and permission to offer Friday prayers in mosques for over three months. He urged the international community to take notice of the grave situation in the valley, which has put the civilians, including women and children, in the history’s ‘biggest human jail’.

The spokesman condemned the recent derogatory remarks of former Indian army general about the Muslim Kashmiri women and said it is a moment for Indian media and intellectuals to introspect on which path of intolerance and bigotry their country has embarked upon.

He confirmed that Queen Maxima of Netherlands will visit Pakistan from November 25 to 27 in her capacity as the UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate on Inclusive Finance and Development.

The FO spokesman condemned the incident of desecration of Holy Quran in Norway and said Pakistan’s policy of respect of religions is ‘to live and let live’. On reports of low number of pilgrims visiting Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, he said Pakistan has permitted 5,000 pilgrims per day from India for a day-long stay, however there are reports of hurdles being created by New Delhi in this regard.